Friday, April 09, 2010

Drinkin' Bud Lite Under the Sprawling Sidewalk Shed at Ray's....

The evening could never have been what it became without the beers in the white plastic bag. He brought the beers with him . He hung the white bag full of Bud Lite on a window tie-back eyelet under Yuca Bar's window . He swilled a few and as always a contentious evening began .

Richie who had just returned from an upstate incarceration of 4 years duration was the first but not the last to object physically ,violently to his presence under the shed this evening . Nothing new or unusual here .He infrequently visits avenue A and Tompkins Square Park drinking many beers and dramatically getting his ass kicked .

Karl the Trotskyist saw the white bag hanging unattended and being a scrounging dumpster diving sort , sorted and pawed the contents , beers , looking for food goodies . He went to Karl and the bag and with hands on Karl scolded "what are you doing ? that belongs to me " .Karl huffed and walked away claiming that he was of necessity a scrounger and that he should appreciate that fact and relax .

His individual beers , the opened ones that were in the process of being consumed were always stashed in a convenient location . Often one would be stashed in the handy "Pee Phone" but other cache locations were selected too .This night the corner of the door next to Ray's was used and also very successfully several beers were stashed behind the cab of a parked truck .Also he incorrectly seemed to believe that the area near the truck afforded an appropriately obscured place to relieve himself .

Later in the evening after annoying a number of folks on avenue A he headed across the avenue to Tompkins Square Park , Crusty Row being his destination . A poor choice , he was known there too and not wanted .

We heard a considerable noise and when we looked in the direction of Crusty Row we saw an angry throng chasing him down the Row . The angry folks mobbed him on a park bench just off the row .somehow he was able to get free and walk away but the crowd followed . When the mob from the Row saw our camera they turned and walked away but one female continued to follow and finally confronted him .

Having consumed a good bit of the liquid Bud , relief was necessary .Quite drunk , in sight of all on Crusty Row , he had recklessly manipulated his crank to relieve himself . Some on the Row ,including the young female , saw his brazen incompetent efforts to drain his bladder as the crank brandishing efforts of a pervert exposing himself .

He was lucky , he wasn't beaten . At this juncture he wasn't all that clearheaded though and when he dimly remembered that he had left the white plastic bag with the beers in it back on the Row , he foolishly headed back to claim these beers .

Back on the row this time things certainly did not go well for him . The rancorous ,angry mob went for him . We last saw him running and screaming from Crusty Row and out of TSP with his white plastic bag of Bud Lite .